Hacking the startup night

The first weekend of September gathered programmers, business developers, analysts and some of the most creative souls at our second hackathon.

21. September 2016 Düsseldorf

Located at EUREF Campus in Berlin, more than 80 participants worked one the same goal: to foster innovation in applying innovative solutions in urban areas.

Expanding cities, dramatically increasing number of residents as well as energy consumption, mobility and environment related issues bring a number of challenges for governments, corporations and all of us. In order to address them, our second hackathon focused on Internet of Things (IoT) in cities: digital solutions that stand at the very heart of urban development of any kind.

Tapping into the network of startups and large corporations, some of the best hackers and entrepreneurs took part in the 27 hours creative marathon. Participants representing over 10 nationalities followed 2 main tracks: LoRa and business development. Throughout the hackathon, the participants worked with 14 mentors from variety of sectors including technology and software, business development and investor relations. Everything has been taken into account: technology, business model and the pitch itself.

The thrill was felt in the air as the winners were announced. Smart clock has been chosen as the best pitch and Healthy Air Advisor as the best IoT solution. Speed Feed had an honor to stand in the spotlight twice: the team has won the best Innovation award and best LoRa solution – a special 1000 Euros award granted by Digimondo. Asthma Control, a platform that enables tracking and automatically transmitting data about asthma attacks, was announced as an overall winner thus gaining access to :agile accelerator program.

This time the hackathon was a satellite event of the Startup Night. One of the largest European startup events attracted 4191 attendees and showcased 200 startups of all kind. Bringing corporations and startups together, the event sought to build a beneficial (and long lasting!) bridge between the two.

If nothing else, the first weekend of September proved us three things. Firstly, working together pays off. Whether it’s a short-term project, a life lasting business or a challenge of one day – creative ideas supplement each other, not the other way round. Secondly, startups are the engine of innovation. The more, the better.

Finally, hackathons are THE hubs of ideas. Not because they offer space, tools or attractive prizes, but because they bring people together. People, who can make an actual change. For this reason exactly, we are confident to say – one hackathon is over, but the next one is on its way.